Credit: Public domain.
After birth rates hit historic lows during the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea is now seeing a veritable baby boom. The country logged 23,111 births in June, up 15.6% from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics 국가데이터처. That figure represents both the most June births since 2019 and largest jump in birth rates since record-keeping began in 1981.
The total fertility rate rose from 0.76 to 0.88, driven by women in their 30s: the birth rate for ages 30-34 rose 12.4 points to 81.6 per 1,000. There were 70,791 births in Q2, up 15.8%, and a total of 145,804 births during H1 2026, up 15.4%.
